AutoPot - 1Pot XL 8 FlexiPot watering system

The FlexiPot system for eight pots is eight 1Pot XL trays with AQUAvalve5 and eight 18.9 litre fabric pots. What you notice against plastic pots is that the rhythm runs faster, and the wall is why.

A fabric pot loses moisture sideways too

The porous wall that lets oxygen in also lets water vapour out. In a plastic pot moisture evaporates only from the top, through the substrate surface and the plant. In a fabric pot it also evaporates across the entire side surface, and that area is considerably larger than the top.

The result: substrate dries back sooner. The AQUAvalve5 still fills to 20 millimetres and still waits for an empty tray, but that tray empties sooner than it would for the same plant in plastic. So you get shorter cycles and more frequent fills.

What that means for your setup

Three things to account for.

Your reservoir empties faster. When sizing the tank, do not reckon on the run time you know from a plastic system; fabric pots use more per day.

The edges dry first. That is normal and is precisely the mechanism air-pruning depends on. Do not be tempted to top up from above because the outside feels dry; the system feeds from below and the core is moist.

On a warm, dry day everything speeds up. Where a plastic pot buffers, a fabric pot follows the climate more directly. That makes it more responsive and simultaneously less forgiving if your tank runs out.

Eight valves, eight rhythms

Each pot has its own tray and valve, so that faster rhythm applies per plant. A large plant in fabric cycles noticeably more often than a small one beside it, and that sorts itself out.

Technical Specifications:

• Pots: 8 x 18.9 litre FlexiPot
• Trays: 8 x 1Pot XL with AQUAvalve5
• Evaporation: from the top and through the side wall
• Effect: shorter fill cycles than plastic pots
• Tank: not included, FlexiTank optional

Frequently asked questions

Do fabric pots use more water? Yes, moisture also evaporates through the side wall.

The outside feels dry, is that right? Yes, that is normal. The core is fed from below.

Should I choose a bigger tank? Reckon on more use than plastic pots of comparable capacity.

Can I top up from above? No, not once the system is running.